In The News

USA TODAY: Infectious disease dominated health news in 2013
“The USA began 2013 in the midst of a severe flu season. Then came renewed concern over improving mental health care in response to a mass shooting. And communities across the USA this year saw outbreaks of measles in areas with low vaccination rates. With no new blockbuster drugs or breakthroughs in cancer and heart disease, many experts say that public health issues such as these dominated health news in 2013…” (Szabo, 12/31).

SciDev.Net: Africa science and development 2013: The year that was
“The year started with a call for developing countries to adopt an ’emerging paradigm’ of affordable, less complex and inclusive innovation to promote development and cut poverty. … Some important key themes followed the call for adopting less complex innovation,” including HIV/AIDS, women and technology, and climate change, among other issues (Odogo/Appiah, 12/31).

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Advances And Setbacks In Global Health During 2013
“From the fight against HIV/AIDS and polio to the spread of new deadly viruses, from the development of artificial-limb technology to new regulations allowing better access to pain killers in Ukraine — 2013 had its share of highs and lows when it came to health and medicine…” (Blua, 12/31).

Devex: Top 10 Devex exclusive interviews of 2013
“Some of the biggest names in our industry opened up to Devex about hot-button issues on global development in 2013. Here are the 10 most-read Devex exclusive interviews in the past year…” (Villarino, 1/3).

Washington Post: Five pressing health priorities in 2014
“As head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Thomas Frieden oversees an agency with the sprawling mission of reining in diseases in the United States and across the globe. … Given that broad range of responsibilities, we asked Frieden about what he considers the top public health priorities for 2014…” (Dennis, 12/28).

News outlets examine the continuing violence and deteriorating humanitarian situation in South Sudan. Relief organizations struggle to provide assistance to the thousands of displaced people with no access to clean water, food and shelter.

U.N. News Centre: South Sudan: U.N. ramps up aid efforts, urges conflict parties to ensure humanitarian access
“The situation in crisis-torn South Sudan remains tense today and, with clashes reported between pro- and anti-government troops in some areas and thousands of people fleeing the ongoing violence, United Nations officials in the country are urging all parties in the conflict to protect civilians and to allow humanitarian workers safe access to them…” (1/3).

The Guardian: South Sudan: fears grow for 75,000 people fleeing violence
“Relief groups have expressed alarm over the plight of 75,000 people who have fled to the town of Awerial amid clashes between government and rebel troops in South Sudan. … MSF and Oxfam say there is an urgent need for clean water, latrines and shelter for the mostly women and children who have gathered in Awerial, about 30 miles from Bor. Awerial has the largest concentration of displaced people in the conflict…” (Tran, 1/2).

BBC News: Lack of water, shelter and food for South Sudan refugees
“Tens of thousands of people who have fled fighting in South Sudan are trying to survive in makeshift camps with no access to clean water, food or shelter…” (1/2).

Associated Press: Humanitarian fears grow amid South Sudan violence
“The World Health Organization is warning of a looming risk of disease outbreaks in South Sudan, where violence has displaced more than 190,000 people since mid-December. WHO said in a statement received Wednesday that there was a shortage of health care workers, with many fleeing their homes for safety in areas hit by violence…” (1/1).

IRIN: Briefing: The humanitarian cost of South Sudan’s continuing violence
“As the conflict in South Sudan continues, aid agencies are struggling to provide assistance to the thousands of people caught up in the violence. As of 29 December, an estimated 180,000 people had been driven from their homes by the fighting, 75,000 of whom are seeking shelter in U.N. compounds…” (12/31).

WHO: Internally displaced people in South Sudan are at great risk of disease outbreaks
“The humanitarian situation in South Sudan has further deteriorated in the past two weeks. Since the outbreak of violence in South Sudan on 15 December 2013, the humanitarian needs have quickly been growing with a total of 195,416 persons have been displaced. … As a result of this population displacement, there is a looming risk of disease outbreaks especially for water borne diseases, warns WHO…” (12/31).

IRIN: South Sudan’s deteriorating humanitarian situation
“As fighting continues across South Sudan, the United Nations is reporting that some 1,000 people may have been killed, while aid agencies estimate that in a worst-case scenario, thousands more could be displaced or will require humanitarian assistance…” (12/27).

Voice of America: South Sudan Women, Children Hard Hit as Violence Spreads: Aid Agencies
“United Nations officials and aid agencies warned Tuesday that the humanitarian situation in South Sudan is rapidly deteriorating, with women and children the hardest hit. The U.N. Mission in South Sudan said some 100,000 people have been internally displaced by fighting that broke out nine days ago in Juba and has spread across the country…” (Green, 12/24).

News outlets examine the U.N.’s call to action against the deteriorating humanitarian and social conditions in Central African Republic.

New York Times: U.N. Says Aid Crisis Worsens in Central African Republic
“The number of people displaced by fighting between Muslim and Christian militias and vigilantes in the Central African Republic has more than doubled in the past month, and increasing violence is making it harder to deliver humanitarian relief, the United Nations warned…” (Cumming-Bruce, 1/3).

U.N. News Centre: Famine and malnutrition stalk strife-torn Central African Republic, U.N. agencies warn
“United Nations agencies today warned of possible famine and severe malnutrition in the Central African Republic (CAR), calling on donors to provide urgent funding to mitigate the crisis in the impoverished country where a year of conflict has already killed thousands of people and driven 750,000 others from their homes…” (12/31).

U.N. News Centre: UNICEF urges action to prevent child deaths from malnutrition in Central African Republic
“The United Nations has voiced ‘extreme concern’ that recent violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) will cause a sharp increase in children suffering severe malnutrition, putting an already vulnerable population at further risk…” (12/26).

U.N. News Centre: More must be done to aid those uprooted in Central African Republic conflict, U.N. warns
“The United Nations voiced increasing concern today for the security of 710,000 people uprooted by conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR) amid difficulty of access to the sites where they have sought shelter and reports of youths prowling around with grenades and machetes…” (12/24).

Voice of America: Food Aid Distribution Difficult in CAR
“The World Food Programme says it will scale-up its emergency operations in Central African Republic to provide aid to more than one million people over the next six months. However, in the meantime, the U.N. agency is trying to cope with growing insecurity, especially in the capital, Bangui…” (DeCapua, 12/23).

Agence France-Presse: Central Africa hospitals under attack: U.N.
“Medical facilities in the conflict-ravaged Central African Republic have come under attack, the U.N. health agency said Friday, as aid groups warned of difficulties in getting supplies to those in need. Health centers and hospitals continue to be targeted by unidentified militias…” (12/20).

In two articles, the U.N. News Centre reports on U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s visit to the Philippines, where he pledged the U.N.’s support and urged the donor community to step up their recovery plans.

U.N. News Centre: Ban urges international community to boost support for Philippines typhoon recovery plan
“United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the international community to scale up support for the massive typhoon recovery plan under way in the Philippines, where the government-led effort that is helping millions of people rebuild their lives must be underpinned by measures to improve the country’s preparedness and resilience to natural disasters…” (12/22).

U.N. News Centre: In Philippines, Ban pledges solidarity with people of typhoon-hit Tacloban
“Visiting the storm-ravaged Philippine city of Tacloban, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailed the resilience of the people and pledged the commitment of the United Nations to keep working with the government to ‘build back better and safer’ all the communities devastated by super Typhoon Haiyan, which ripped through the archipelago a little over a month ago…” (12/21).

New York Times: Afghanistan’s Worsening, and Baffling, Hunger Crisis
“Afghan hospitals like Bost, in the capital of war-torn Helmand Province, have been registering significant increases in severe malnutrition among children. … Reasons for the increase remain uncertain, or in dispute. Most doctors and aid workers agree that continuing war and refugee displacement are contributing. Some believe that the growing number of child patients may be at least partly a good sign, as more poor Afghans are hearing about treatment available to them. What is clear is that, despite years of Western involvement and billions of dollars in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, children’s health is not only still a problem, but also worsening, and the doctors bearing the brunt of the crisis are worried…” (Nordland, 1/4).

IRIN: Fighting food insecurity in Afghanistan
“A network of critical emergency grain reserves across Afghanistan is set to boost food security and help strengthen resilience in a country that struggles to grow enough food to feed its 31 million people. … The WFP-Afghan government project aims to construct depots in various locations that will eventually hold a total of 200,000 metric tons of food – enough to feed two million people for up to six months in times of emergency…” (1/3).

Financial Times: Cancer eclipsed as global donors focus on other diseases
“…The international focus on HIV, malaria and tuberculosis — with billions of dollars spent annually under the umbrella of the UN Millennium Development Goals — has dramatically reduced their impact in Africa. But the well-intentioned focus on these three diseases has meant less attention and funding for nontransmissible illnesses such as cancer…” (Blas, 12/30).

New York Times: India’s Efforts to Aid Poor Worry Drug Makers
“…The skirmishing over Herceptin and other cancer medicines is part of a new and critical phase in a struggle to make drugs affordable to the world’s poorest people, one that began in earnest more than a decade ago when advocates campaigned successfully to make AIDS medicines accessible to millions of Africans…” (Harris, 12/29).

News outlets report on new Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) cases identified in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.

Reuters: Six new cases of MERS virus hit Saudi Arabia, UAE
“Another five people in Saudi Arabia and one in the United Arab Emirates have become infected with the potentially deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday…” (Kelland, 12/31).

RTT News: One More Case Of MERS Infection Reported In UAE: WHO
“The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) revealed Friday that it has been notified of another laboratory-confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)…” (1/3).

Global Dispatch: Dubai health care worker is 177th MERS coronavirus case reported to the WHO
“On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) was informed of a new laboratory confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in United Arab Emirates, according to a Disease Outbreak News release Jan. 3…” (1/3).

WHO: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) — update
“…Globally, from September 2012 to date, WHO has been informed of a total of 177 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including 74 deaths…” (1/3).

Reuters: Hong Kong reports its first death from H7N9 bird flu
“An 80-year-old man infected with the H7N9 bird flu virus has died in Hong Kong, the government said on Thursday, in the first such death in the city after the virus surfaced in early December…” (12/26).

UPI: Second man with bird flu in Hong Kong dies
“…A 36-year-old Indonesian domestic helper Tri Mawarti — the first person confirmed to have bird flu in Hong Kong — is reported to be in a stable condition at Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam. The 80-year-old man was the second confirmed case of bird flu in Hong Kong…” (12/26).

NPR: Why Ending Malaria May Be More About Backhoes Than Bed Nets
“Wiping out malaria is a top goal for many leaders in global health. … But when you look at the overall numbers on malaria, eradication almost seems like a pipe dream. … So why are global health leaders so optimistic about someday ending malaria? Perhaps because there has been a precedent. And it happened right here in the U.S. …” (Beaubien, 1/3).

News outlets examine the potential impact of a bill passed by Uganda’s parliament that would impose jail time for those found guilty of homosexual acts.

IRIN: New law a setback for Uganda’s HIV response
“The draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill passed by Uganda’s parliament on 20 December would deliver a major blow to the response to HIV/AIDS if it was enacted by President Yoweri Museveni, activists have warned…” (12/23).

Science Speaks: Uganda Parliament passes Anti-Homosexuality bill, ‘filling gaps,’ adding further blows to HIV response
“Substituting life in prison for the death penalty as the punishment for ‘aggravated homosexuality,’ the Ugandan Parliament passed its Anti-Homosexuality Bill today, filling ‘gaps,’ it says, in existing law. While a text of the current bill is not available, ‘aggravated homosexuality,’ under the 2009 bill includes being a ‘serial offender’ or being an ‘offender’ with HIV…” (Barton, 12/20).

CNN: Uganda official: Homosexuality a threat
“Uganda has passed a law that makes being gay a crime punishable with up to life in prison. … Max Foster talks to Ugandan gay rights activist Frank Mugisha…” (12/27).

New York Times: Vaccine Aide Gunned Down in Pakistan
“A health worker supervising a polio vaccination campaign was fatally shot and two others were wounded on Saturday when gunmen opened fire at a hospital in northwestern Pakistan, officials said…” (Masood, 12/28).

United Press International: Polio worker killed, two wounded in attack on Pakistan hospital
“A polio worker was killed and two other people injured Saturday when gunmen attacked a hospital in the Pakistan city of Peshawar, officials say…” (12/28).

Xinhua: Polio-eradication campaigner killed in NW Pakistan’s firing
“A polio-eradication campaigner was killed and two people were injured when unknown gunmen sprayed bullets at a hospital in Pakistan’s northwest Peshawar city on Saturday morning, local media reported…” (12/28).

Inter Press Service: Pakistan’s Polio Campaign Runs Into Taliban Wall
“The Taliban are proving to be a huge stumbling block for Pakistan as the South Asian nation — one of only three remaining polio endemic countries in the world — tries to fight the crippling disease…” (Yusufzai, 1/3).

Globe And Mail: Bill Gates and the science of global health
“Bill Gates makes big … donations to the Global Fund, the worldwide effort to combat and eradicate the triple scourge of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Results have been remarkable. … Mr. Gates spoke recently of his deep commitment to primary health care and how to leverage science and technology in pursuit of his foundation’s goal that ‘every person deserves the chance to live a healthy, productive life.’ Here is what he had to say about his work, its impact on his own life, and his ambition to do more work in the field and meet ‘the heroes on the front line’…” (Koring, 12/23).

Editorials and Opinions

Foreign Policy: America Is Not The Grinch
John Norris, executive director of the Sustainable Security and Peacebuilding Initiative at the Center for American Progress

“All told, more than $200 billion from the United States flows into the developing world each year. … Now consider that the United States has more than doubled its aid to sub-Saharan Africa over the last decade, made massive U.S. investments in PEPFAR and the Global Fund that have led to a historic turnaround in the HIV/AIDS crisis, and has long been the most generous donor in responding to humanitarian crises around the globe. … Perhaps the idea that the United States has been a steady, consistent, and largely responsible development investor is something that isn’t easy for anyone to get their head around. But a Grinch it most assuredly is not.” (12/24).

The following summarizes opinion pieces addressing the ongoing violence in Syria and how it is affecting the country’s health system.

The Guardian: As if Syria didn’t have enough problems, now a polio epidemic looms
Elizabeth Parker-Magyar, news producer at Syria Direct

“The United Nations announcement on [December 22] that it would demand a record-shattering $6.5 billion to fund humanitarian efforts in Syria — as much as it will spend in response everywhere else in the world, combined — underscored the scale of the humanitarian tragedy in Syria. … But no effort will receive more scrutiny than the U.N.’s push to prevent a polio epidemic. … In 2014, let us hope that the United States and its allies can use their influence to ensure that the Syrian government allows humanitarian agencies to distribute polio vaccines throughout Syria, even in rebel-controlled areas” (12/26).

New York Times: Syria’s Raging Health Crisis
Adam Coutts, a researcher at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; and Fouad Fouad, an assistant research professor in the faculty of health sciences at the American University of Beirut

“The situation [in Syria] is extremely challenging, but humanitarian agencies in the region should be independent and transparent. There are very real challenges for United Nations staff members working in Syria, but the World Health Organization must respond to the claims that it refused to test the Deir al-Zour polio samples, explain why it took three months to confirm a suspected case in July 2013 and give a better account of why the area was excluded from its vaccination drive. Anything short of this disclosure risks causing more preventable deaths, not just in Syria but across the entire region” (1/1).

The following summarizes opinion pieces and an editorial addressing efforts to eradicate polio worldwide.

Los Angeles Times: Polio’s war foothold
Nancy Aossey, president and chief executive of International Medical Corps; and William Garvelink, the group’s senior adviser for global strategy

“The polio resurgence is preventable and it is time to pull out an old but proven technique to halt its spread: Days of Tranquility. This 30-year-old quaintly named tactic involves a negotiated cease-fire during which insurgents and governments allow humanitarian groups to reach children trapped by fighting and immunize them against infectious diseases, such as polio. … Days of Tranquility is probably the only chance to protect the health of the extremely vulnerable children in Syria, the Horn of Africa and along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier. Despite appeals, political movements and governments in these areas have been unable to find a way to pause for a few days for the good of their children…” (1/3).

“As with other health threats, polio doesn’t stay neatly with a country’s borders. In the case of Nigeria, polio has spread from there to 25 polio-free countries in the past 10 years. The Nigerian government recognizes this as a public health threat that can be tackled. Last year they put a national emergency action plan in place to eradicate polio and activated an emergency operations center for the work. In December I had the chance to visit Nigeria and observe firsthand the progress they’re making. What I saw was impressive. Here are a few highlights from the trip…” (1/2).

The Virginian-Pilot: Erasing polio requires push
“…[P]olio showed up in eight countries [in 2013], although [2012’s] fight against the scourge had been confined to four nations where violence rages and where government has lost control. That means 2014’s battle against polio must continue with everything health workers can throw at it. … Some naysayers argue that the billions of dollars it will cost to wipe out the disease could be better spent on other health needs. That ignores the billions that have already been spent, and smacks of quitting within sight of the finish line…” (12/24).

Huffington Post: South Sudan’s Forgotten People and Their Forgotten Diseases
Peter Hotez, founding dean, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine; president, Sabin Vaccine Institute

“Based on a past and horrific legacy, the renewed hostilities in South Sudan could portend a public health crisis from neglected tropical diseases. Reports from organizations such as MSF indicate they are now actively working in South Sudan and providing direct medical care, but we have deep and grave concerns on a potential neglected tropical disease public health tragedy to follow…” (12/31).

“Global health saw plenty of victories and setbacks in 2013. Drug-resistant TB, slowing donor funding, new outbreaks of polio and a devastating typhoon showed how easily progress can stall. Amid these challenges emerged a changing global health landscape. The old way of doing things is now, more than ever, on its way out. In the next five years, the range of actors that are engaging and making a difference in addressing global health issues will continue to broaden and expand, even as the underlying health challenges narrow, and as The Lancet recently described, converge…” (12/30).

“As I look ahead to 2014, I am more optimistic than ever about the progress that we can make using the power of vaccines to give all children — wherever they live — a healthy start to life. We have new resources from generous donors worldwide. We are developing new and better vaccines to protect kids from deadly diseases. And we are finding innovative ways to deliver them, especially in hard-to-reach areas … Emerging-country vaccine suppliers are a critical part of this process. Thanks to their contributions, we are moving closer to the day when all children can have a healthy start to life” (12/30).

Huffington Post: Reaching the Tipping Point on Pediatric AIDS
Chip Lyons, president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

“Through the leadership of Nelson Mandela and others, and the actions of countless individuals, South Africa reached a tipping point at which freedom, which once seemed impossible, became inevitable. In 2013 we saw our own ‘tipping’ point with regard to the AIDS pandemic — and real progress around a global plan to end pediatric AIDS — bringing us closer each day to a world where no child has AIDS. … We need to step up efforts to provide treatment for HIV-positive mothers and HIV-exposed children. We need to use the successes of 2013 to build a platform for continued momentum in 2014 and beyond…” (12/26).

Recent Releases

The Gates Notes: Good News You Might Have Missed in 2013
“I thought I would share a different kind of list: some of the good news you might have missed. I’ve limited my list to global health and development, where Melinda and I spend a lot of time, but even so, there’s a lot to report. If you measure progress by the number of children who die of preventable causes, or by the number of people who escape extreme poverty — as I do — then 2013 was definitely a good year,” Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation writes, and he reviews several issues, including polio and child mortality (12/23).

USAID Global Health News: A Year in Review: 2013 Highlights in Global Health
“Join us in celebrating some of the accomplishments the global health community has seen in the past year. We look forward to 2014 and many more successes to come!” The e-mail alert includes links to resources on several global health milestone events and stories of 2013, including the global newborn conference, 10 years of PEPFAR and replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (December 2013).

David Lane, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Agencies in Rome, Italy, writes in the U.S. State Department’s DipNote blog about a recent trip to Cambodia, where his delegation examined food security and hunger. “Those of us who cheer the major strides forward in agricultural productivity, and the increasing awareness of the importance of improved nutrition, must not lose sight of the painful reality that far too many still suffer from a basic inability to feed themselves and their families. But hunger is not hopeless: it is solvable. We have the knowledge and the tools to end hunger. With deliberate effort and hard work, we can succeed,” he writes (1/2).

“…In December, [Médecins Sans Frontières], which examined potential ways to increase access to viral load testing in [a] previous report, released ‘How Low Can We Go?’ a preliminary brief exploring ways to reduce the costs of viral load testing. The organization will release a full report on findings from six countries later this year,” the Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks” blog notes (Barton, 1/3).